unshackled
Clad in bright yellow shirts, the women were hard to miss. Shackled and standing in line, some of the suspected prostitutes covered their faces with their hands. People who witnessed this spectacle of shame raged online, claiming that many women resort to prostitution to feed their families. The nation’s government responded by creating a new law to ban the practice…
seven spiritual metaphors from technology
I have been a user of technology as well as a technologist for many years. One of my favorite topics remains the faith and technology category. As I ponder about the current technology available, I find it fascinating to see spiritual lessons and metaphors we can learn. Here are 7 of them:
1) GPS – Global Positioning Unit (Attentiveness)
"Hear instruction,…
personal and present
If there ever was a person who had the right to ask, “Why me?” it was Joan Brock. As a young wife and mother, Joan went completely blind in a span of just 3 short weeks. If that wasn’t hard enough, 5 years later, her husband died of a rare form of cancer.
As Joan began to speak publicly about…
imperfect prayer studies
A 1988 study by Dr. Randolph Byrd found coronary care patients were 11 percent more likely to recover when they had received the prayers of others. A 2006 study led by Dr. Herbert Benson suggested there was no improvement for patients at all. A more recent study (September 2010) by Candy Gunther Brown at Indiana University reported significantly positive results…
it's God's battle
2 Chronicles 20:15–16: He said, “Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Listen, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. Tomorrow, march out against them. You will find them coming up through the ascent of Ziz at the end…
trapped
Last summer, 33 miners in Chile became trapped when the copper mine they were working in was rocked by a landslide. Entombed 700 meters (2,300 feet) below ground, the miners faced many weeks of mental and physical stress prior to their rescue. One man, however, experienced heightened anxiety when he learned that his wife and his mistress had met at…
a dirty dog
Opened the door after letting our little dog Shadow outside last night. He came inside and stretched out. My husband Jason called to him. When Shadow ran in his direction, a muddy imprint of a paw was left behind on the floor. Guess who had run through the sprinkler and then rolled in a muddy mess?
We immediately had to put…
only Jesus saves
Psalms 24:1-6: The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him. For he laid the earth’s foundation on the seas and built it on the ocean depths. Who may climb the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? Only those whose hands and hearts are pure, who…
solid ground
Feelings lie. This truth became evident as my husband and I talked with a young man who, after becoming sexually active with his girlfriend, was brokenhearted at how far he had moved from following God’s Word. Trying to convince himself that God could bring something good out of their sin, he had continued in the relationship. On the basis of…
no good thing
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The Lord God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right (Psalm 84:11).
accepted
Ephesians 1:3-6: All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. God decided in advance to adopt…
is it worth it?
Lou Gehrig may not have died from Lou Gehrig’s disease. The Hall of Fame pro baseball player is the namesake for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a debilitating neurological disease that slowly paralyzes its victims and ultimately leads to death. New research reveals that Gehrig may not have had ALS, but exhibited similar symptoms due to blows to his head.
Gehrig…
Japan: I'm coming
Me: Hey. I will be in Japan from 7 to 17 August.
Friend A: You sure? Aren't you afraid of the radiation?
Me: We are serving the victims in Miyagi prefecture focusing on a district called Motoyoshi, which was heavily damaged by the tsunami. Miyagi is the closest land area to the epicenter of the earthquake, and it is quite far from…
distractions
Psalms 121:1–3: I look up to the mountains—does my help come from there? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth! He will not let you stumble; the One who watches over you will not slumber.
The Word of God declares, “Greater is He who is in you than he that is in the world.” The Holy Spirit…
July 25, 2011
Our hearts and prayers are with the people of Norway. In light of the horrific events they experienced, what are the differences between the “religious” beliefs of the madman who cruelly took so many lives and an authentic faith in Jesus?
